B.C. native seeks funding for Detroit-area urban farm, kitchen
An urban farm and catering business launched by a Battle Creek native is one of 10 semi-finalists for a $50,000 grant to open a bricks-and-mortar business in the Detroit area.
Alison Heeres, a 2004 Lakeview graduate, is bidding on the $50,000 prize hosted by Hatch Detroit, an organization that provides funding for city redevelopment efforts. The grant would be for her business, Coriander Kitchen and Farm, which Heeres founded in 2014 with Gwen Meyer, whom she met in Detroit in 2008. The business largely is operated at Detroit River Sports Marina, but Heeres said she the money would be used to run its own cafe.
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Coriander also has plans to purchase and operate a food truck, which she said will happen regardless of the results of the contest.
Heeres, a 2008 graduate of the University of Michigan, said Coriander has numerous missions for its business including growing organic, high-quality food, offering "affordable, casual, healthy and interesting fare for Detroiters," and providing jobs for people to work in the community.
"What drives me, you know, to be honest, when I originally started this, Detroit was a very different place," she said. "There was nowhere to eat. No food that wasn’t fried food or stuff that’s really bad for you. Over the time of my journey going to work at farms, I specifically worked at farms with prepared food operations with them. We still have a lack of affordable, healthy options."
Ultimately, Heeres said Coriander would like to grow Detroit's restaurant scene with independent and casual food that fills the gap between high-end eateries and low-end restaurants. The bricks-and-mortar facility, she said, would allow the business to present its food on a continuing basis to couple that with its ongoing catering and farming efforts.
Voting for the contest closes at midnight today. The ballot is available online at hatchdetroit.com/vote. The top four finalists for the funding will be announced at noon Friday and will undergo a second round of voting that will end with a winner on Aug. 26.
Though she believes it's a "silly contest," as its funding is tied primarily to an online voting process, a win would go a long way toward Coriander's goals in the city.
"Part of Detroit’s redevelopment includes green space and growing food," she said. "If you know anything about Detroit’s decline, part of that is a loss of access to fresh food. And not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but you never know what’s going to happen, so a city with the capacity to grow some food is extremely important."
Contact Dillon Davis at 269-966-0698 or dwdavis@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DillonDavis